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16
He wanted to smash things. Every item in his office to start. Because if not for this fucking place, maybe he would’ve manned up enough to make a decision that hadn’t resulted in breaking Kelly’s heart.
She’d get over him, of that he had no doubt. She’d been right about one thing. He didn’t deserve her. At least he hadn’t slept with her one more time, even if his cock had ached so badly he’d nearly exploded the instant he laid eyes upon her in that schoolgirl outfit. She’d looked so innocent, so erotically pure, and he’d wanted to exploit that innocence, to tarnish it until she was his in every way possible.
Hadn’t he done that enough already? He’d had sex with her in front of crowds of people. He’d opened her up and taken what he wanted without thought to what she might need afterward.
And she’d fallen in love with him anyway. Somehow.
Spencer dropped into the chair behind his desk and closed his gritty eyes. He should go home and pack for Virginia. He was due to be on a plane midmorning and he had a ton of work to take with him. The last thing he could afford was another missed night of sleep.
No, what you can’t afford is to lose her.
He didn’t have a right to feel what he felt. The choices he’d made, was still making, had effectively decided that for him. The kindest thing he could do was to let her go now, quickly, quietly, with a minimum of fuss.
That mantra worked well through what was left of the night. Packing and a couple hours of unsettled sleep filled the time and added just a bit of distance.
By morning, he’d convinced himself none of it was real. Not the meeting with Diana or what had happened afterward. He’d just had the bad dream from hell. When he walked into the store to pick up the last few things he needed before his flight, Kelly would give him a smile and a wink and he’d go off on his trip already anticipating coming home to her.
When he walked into The Book Nook, he saw Kelly all right. And she was flirting with a man who looked way too much like himself.
“So I figured why not come up for a visit when I have some downtime? I may as well just enjoy myself. You know?” Adam Galvin trailed a fingertip down Kelly’s bare shoulder, his smile broad as he swung it between Kelly and Leigh, who only rolled her eyes. “So far so good. I’m loving the scenery up North, that’s for sure.”
Not bothering to disguise his annoyance, Spencer approached Adam and his admiring horde. “Ever heard the phrase ‘look but don’t touch’?”
He was used to seeing women fawn all over his younger brother. What he wasn’t used to was wanting to rip Adam’s head off his shoulders for daring to include Kelly in his flock of adoring fans.
“It applies here,” Spencer added as Adam’s grin faded.
“Spence, my man, there you are. Wondered if I’d catch you before you hit the friendly skies. Then I hit my own little patch of friendliness and—”
“Forgot all about me?” Spencer clenched his jaw. “Why are you in town anyway?”
“Now there’s a welcome.” Adam dropped his hand and used the other to scratch the back of his neck. “Christ, you haven’t seen me in, what, six months? Thought you’d be happy to see your kid brother.”
“Maybe I would be if you didn’t have your hands all over the merchandise.”
Kelly shot him a dark look but he couldn’t even feel triumphant. All he felt was miserable. How the fuck had he screwed up so royally?
“Merchandise, huh?” Adam’s sharp blue gaze turned thoughtful as he glanced down at Kelly. He was taller than her in her clogs, but barely. “Didn’t see the paid sign on you but I must’ve missed it.”
“Trust me, I’m no one’s merchandise.” Kelly leaned closer until her breasts were a hair away from touching Adam’s chest. “So you really played football? That’s so—”
“Dangerous,” Leigh finished, edging aside her tray of peanut butter cookies before Adam could snag one. From the trail of crumbs on his black T-shirt, he’d already had his share.
“I was going to say sexy.” Kelly smiled and shook her hair in a coy manner she’d never used on Spencer. “Desk types really annoy me. I appreciate a man who knows how to get down and dirty.”
Adam chuckled. “No problems with that here, sweetheart.” He glanced back at Leigh. “What about you? You like it dirty too?”
She sniffed as only Leigh could. “If I did, I certainly wouldn’t tell you.”
The sound of Adam’s raucous laughter accompanied Spencer across the store as he walked away. He couldn’t look at Kelly a moment longer.
Now if only he could erase her from his thoughts.
Adam found him in his office a short while later. He’d intended to shove files into his briefcase and head out, but he hadn’t been able to stop staring at the loveseat where Kelly had sat the night before. Sobbing her eyes out because she loved him and she believed he didn’t care.
God, could she have been any more wrong?
